Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) to Issue $0.27 Quarterly Dividend

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%.

Badger Meter has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 31 consecutive years.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE BMI traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 157,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,009. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.94. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $130.75 and a 1 year high of $187.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.02, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.80.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.